Gravity Falls: The Pine Journal
by CressBriwn
Summary: Dipper and Mabel are back, excited to see their friends and family. But with a sad welcome back and returning of an old enemy, it seems as if their summer will be uneventful. Luckily for us and unfortunately for the Pines twins a new mystery lurks in the depths of Gravity Falls, bigger than the Journals, even bigger than Bill. And the only ones who can solve it are Dipper and Mabel
1. Welcome Back?

Dipper and Mabel Pines sat in the transportation bus, taking them to their beloved Gravity Falls.

They hadn't been there in two years, because of Dipper's summer science program and the move of their house.

Mabel's hair was pulled up in two space buns, her normal pink headband resting on her hair. She wore a shirt with all of the Disney princesses displayed and hiking shorts with her usual sweater tighten around her waist. She had gotten taller and her body had become more mature and older. She was now a part of many fan clubs at school and still maintained her silliness. Waddles slept on her lap, now bigger and even pinker.

Dipper wore Wendy's hat, an old token of Gravity Falls. His ripped jeans and plaid shirt made him look like a total hipster. The summer after he left he hit a major growth spurt, he was tall with a deeper, more natural voice. Working hard, he took more advanced classes but promised he would stay with Mabel for graduation. He was still interested in the paranormal and had been talking to publishers about making a book about Gravity Falls.

They were very excited to be going back. Soos and Melody was running the Mystery Shack while raising their baby, Stanley or Lee. Grunkle Stan and Ford were also going to be there, taking a break from their search for mystical creatures in the sea. Mabel planned on seeing Grenda and Candy, who had only been contacting each them through messages and calling. Dipper wondered what Wendy was doing, since she was going to be going to college. Secretly he wanted to meet Pacifica but was too embarrassed to admit it to Mabel.

The bus screeched to a halt right outside the Mystery Shack.

"Finally!" Mabel said, planting her feet on the dirt road. She laid her suitcase down next to her, Waddles licking the stickers plastered on the bag.

"It feels so good to be back," Dipper said and stretched his legs.

They walked into the Mystery Shack, the bell ringing them in. It all looked the same, the rundown counter, the postcard holder with cheesy lines, a display case showing all the cheap souvenirs. Melody stood behind the counter her caramel hair in a messy bun. She looked surprised to see them and called, "Soos! Honey!"

"Coming!" Soos's familiar voice said. He appeared around the corner, wearing a tuxedo and the maroon mystery hat with the 8 ball cane in hand. "Guys!" he said, walking over to Mabel and Dipper, wrapping them in a huge hug.

"Soos!" They both said, then Dipper breathed, "You're suffocating me!"

"Oops sorry dudes," Soos chuckled, and fixed his hat.

"Where's Ford and Stan?" Mabel asked, her eyes scanning the room for her grunkles. "Are they hiding?" she giggled.

"Uh..." Soos looked uncomfortable. "They aren't here and they won't be coming until a few weeks from now."

"What?" Dipper said, heartbroken.

"Yeah something, er, came up. But they want you to know that they love you and are thinking of you," Soos said, pulling out a envelope from his pocket and handing it to Mabel.

"Dear Dipper and Mabel," Mabel read aloud. "We are receiving some complications with our mission out here and won't be there with you in Gravity Falls. We love you two very much and can't wait to see you. Love, Ford and Stan." she sighed and handed it to Dipper. "I was really looking forward to seeing them."

"Yeah, but I have something to show you dudes. I mean it isn't Ford or Stan, but it's pretty dope." Soos said and led them up the old rickety stairs to their old attic room. He opened the doors and the twins gasped in surprise.

In the middle, in front of the triangle window there was Polaroid pictures of Mabel, Dipper, Wendy, Pacifica, Waddles, and all of their friends from Gravity Falls. The side that belonged to Mabel had a desk with an art kit already set on top of it. The bedcover was a huge picture of Waddles and above the headboard was the words _Everything's better with Sparkles! _On Dipper's side was another desk with a maroon book that looked like the journals that Ford had made that were burned during Weirdmageddon, but instead of a gold 6 fingered hand with a number there was a Pine tree with the number one. Above the desk was a cork board with push pins for Dipper's conspiracies to be seen clearly. His covers were a picture of the big dipper.

"Soos this is awesome!" Dipper said, holding up the Pine Tree Journal.

"Yeah there's even a bed for Waddles!" Mabel squealed pointing to a small dog bed at the end of her bed. "Thank you so much!"

"Sure thing dudes! You should unpack and then we can have dinner!" Soos said, grinning and left them to get out all their things.

Mabel began pulling out clothes, zooming all around the room, making it more Mabelier.

"This is so cool, Mabel," Dipper said, flipping through the pages of his new notebook. "Think of all the new thing we can discover here."

"Yeah, but you know we can't be solving mysteries all summer," Mabel said, hanging up a miniature sweater for Waddles in the closet.

"What?" Dipper said, jokingly. "That's crazy talk."

"Shut up," she laughed. "Come on, let's go downstairs."

They walked down together, turning the corner into the living room.

"Pacifica?!" Mabel and Dipper said at the same time.

Pacifica laughed. Her blonde hair cascaded down to her waist. She wore a white t-shirt with a purple skirt and tan combat boots. She had a key with a chain necklace looped through it. She looked older, more comfortable in her body and seemed much more at ease. "Dipper! Mabel!" she hugged them, "I'm so happy to see you guys again!"

Mabel laughed, "You have braces!"

Dipper smiled, "Uh, nice to see you too, I guess." he tried not to think about how Pacifica smelled like fresh melon. Or that her cheek was right next to his.

She released them, "Yeah, apparently I have bit of an overbite."

"Why are you here?" Dipper asked. It came out a little harsher than he wanted.

"Oh I work here." she smiled, nervously.

"Hey dudes, dinner's ready! We're having hot dogs!" Soos said, coming out of the kitchen.

"Soos!" Dipper hissed.

"Can we um, talk to you for a second?" Mabel asked.

She, Dipper, and Soos huddled together.

"Why did you hire her Soos?" Dipper whined. The prospect of seeing Pacifica everyday was both exciting and terrifying for Dipper. What if she thought he was weird? Ugh... why was he thinking about what she thought?

"We needed the help, plus she's changed you guys," Soos said.

"Are you sure?" Mabel said, she wanted to believe it, but she had all too many bad experiences with Pacifica.

"Totally bros," Soos promised.

"Well, at least she won't be with us all the time," Dipper said.

"Yeah about that," Soos laughed nervously.

"What?" Dipper groaned.

"She's um going to be here all summer."

"WHAT!?"


	2. Oh a Camping We Will Go!

"Soooooooo Pacifica," Mabel said, trying to break the tension, "What have you been up to?"

"Well I go to Gravity Falls High School. I joined the choir and I work here," she said, stabbing her hot dog with her fork and preceding to gnaw at it awkwardly.

"Honey, a hot dog is a finger food," Melody said, giving Pacifica a sweet smile.

"Oh right, duh, I knew that." Pacifica began to poke the hot dog, cheeks growing red.

Dipper groaned, "Oh my god, Pacifica! You eat a hot dog like this!" He grabbed it and shoved it into his mouth. "Seeeh?"

Pacifica looked at him, not exactly knowing what to say. First of all he was being disgusting. Second, it was a little cute. Third, he was _yelling_ at her. "Yeah I got it." she frowned. She looked disgusted as she reluctantly picked up the hot dog, and forced it into her mouth.

"Dipper, can I see you for a second?" Mabel said, getting up and dragging her brother out of the room.

When they were far enough from everyone else, Mabel said, "Why are you being so mean to Pacifica?!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Dipper said, looking down at his feet.

"She's making an effort and you're just shutting her down!" she whisper-shouted. "Listen," she sighed, "we both know you used to like her-."

"EXCUSE ME!" Dipper yelled, loud enough so that Soos, Melody, and Pacifica turned their attention towards them. "I am insulted!" and with that he stormed back into the kitchen.

"Ugh!" Mabel groaned and followed him back.

"So, we were just talking about this camping thing that we're going to do," Melody said as soon as the twins joined the table.

"What camping thing?" Dipper asked. "We live right next to the woods."

"Exactly, we haven't been taking advantage of it," Soos said, licking the mustard from the side of his lips. "So tomorrow we're gonna head there with everyone."

"How long?" Dipper asked, eyeing Pacifica.

"Two nights," Soos said.

"Sounds fun!" Mabel said, and Melody shot her a grateful look for brightening the mood. "It'll be great time for us to bond! We are going to be spending the summer together, might as well enjoy it," she reminded the group, and wrapped everyone in a hug.

After dinner, Melody laid Lee down for a nap while Soos and Pacifica cleaned the kitchen and washed the dishes. Mabel and Dipper headed up to their rooms to unpack more.

Once inside, Mabel shut the door and sighed.

Dipper gave her a strange look. All his sister had been talking about was going back to the town, yet here she was looking all _depressed_. "Is everything okay Mabel?"

Mabel shook her head and slumped onto her bed, immediately grabbing Waddles to snuggle with. "I miss our Grunkles. I mean I love Soos, and Melody and Pacifica are nice, but its not Gravity Falls without Stan's grouchiness and Ford's nerd language."

Dipper nodded his head, "I know exactly what you mean. I miss them so much, but you know they would be here no matter what. Besides, you read the note, they'll be here in a couple weeks. We have the whole summer."

Mabel nodded. She knew what her brother said was true, but it pained her to be away from the people she had been missing for forever.

"C'mon," Dipper said, "we better go to sleep."

They shut off all their lights and drifted off into unconsciousness.

"WAKE UP DIPPER!" Mabel yelled and sung the toon of a trumpet. "Rise and shine! Up and atta 'em! Duty calls! Those bags aren't going to pack themselves!" Then when he refused to wake up, she said, "Ugh we're going to be late. Do you know how long it will take for Soos, Melody, a baby, me, Pacifca, and _you _to walk 10 miles?!"

Dipper sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Wait a second. Are you telling me, that we unpacked all our stuff yesterday, and now we have to repack to go to that stupid camp thingy?!" he groaned, thinking it all through.

Mabel shrunched up her face, processing her brother's words. "Precisely!" she grinned. "Alright lets go, champ!"

After three hours of packing, changing Lee's diapers, Pacifica trying on clothes to achieve the "perfect camping look", Mabel's motivation, and Dipper's complaining, the seven of them, if you count Waddles, were ready to venture out into the wilderness.

Despite roasting under the sun and being bug bait, the group was surprisingly having a pleasant time. Finally, they reached the clearing.

"Its around that time folks!" Soos announced. "Dinner!"

Dipper got a fire going and they started roasting hot dogs. The sun started going down and it seemed like everyone was finally relaxed and calm.

Then Melody screamed. "Oh no!" She said and ran over to her husband. "Lee's got a horrible rash and is just burning up."

Soos groaned. "I guess we better head back."

Dipper smothered his happiness and faked a sad face. "Oh too bad, so sad." he flashed Pacifica a disgusted look.

Mabel, seeing that spiteful glance, quickly came up with a solution. "Why don't Pacifca, Dipper and I just stay here for the original scheduled time. Might as well, I mean we just got here, I'd hate to have to pack this all up again."

Soos thought about it. "Sure. Why not? You guys are definitely old enough and responsible enough after what happened that summer."

"What?!" Dipper said. "What if we die out here?"

Soos and Melody shared a laugh. "Dipper please," Melody said, "there's nothing out here you three cannot handle."

Melody and Soos packed up their things and took Lee back to the Mystery Shack, leaving Pacifica, Mabel, and Dipper alone.

After a long silence, Mabel said, "Hey why don't we play truth or dare?"

Since they had nothing better to do, Dipper and Pacifica reluctantly agreed.

"I'll go first," Dipper said. "Mabel, truth or dare?"

"Dare!" Mabel declared.

Dipper thought for a moment. "I dare you to... tell us the scariest story you can come up with."

"Oh that's a good one," Pacifca said, and for the first time that night, Dipper actually smiled at her.

"Alright you kids want a scary story? You're going to get one!" Mabel promised and rubbed her hands together. Finally she perked up: she had a story.

"Once upon a time, in these very woods, an explorer by the name of Noah Desano searched for the amulet of the Sea. He came with an exploring team, the best of the best, to help him on his findings.

"On the first night, they met an old man of the town who warned them that the lure of the amulet would corrupt the explorers. They all laughed and said it was just a silly tall tale and continued their journey. When they woke up, they found that two out of the five of their crew was dead! Strangled!

"Terrified of their colleagues' death, Noah and the two other explorers made sure that their tents were secure. No one left the tent and no one came in. In the morning, Noah and the other explorer were horrified to see that their third companion was dead.

"On the third night, Noah and the other explorer stayed up all night, prepared to fight off whatever had killed their friends. Noah must've drifted off because by the time he was awake, the other explorer was dead and Noah's hands were wrapped around their neck!"

Pacifica and Dipper gasped, that had taken a truly unexpected turn.

"The old man was right. The amulet of the Sea was dangerous and effecting Noah. Now Noah roams the Gravity Falls forest, searching for amulet. He's neither living nor dead, just an entity wanting to rest." Mabel finished her story, and laughed at her brother's and friend's expression.

"That was an interesting story," Pacifca said. "Okay, Mabel its your turn to truth or dare someone."

"Pacifica, truth or dare!" Mabel said.

Pacifica squirmed, "Uh, truth?"

"What's the real reason that you're staying here?" Mabel asked. It was something she had been wondering about ever since Pacifica's summer announcement.

Pacifca sighed, she was hoping this wouldn't come up. But this was her chance to become close the them, and tell the truth. "The truth is the summer you guys came here changed me. It made me better, I had fun and adventures. For the first time in my life I felt free from my parents' expectations and rules. I guess," she looked into the flames, "I don't know, maybe you would forgive me for being so horrible and we could... be friends," she admitted, and briefly looked directly into Dipper's eyes.

"Of course we'll be your friends," Mabel said. "And you're already forgiven, right Dipper?"

"Yeah," Dipper said, looking down. He cleared his throat. "Yes. Pacifca, you don't have to prove anything. We know you're a good person." he smiled at her.

"Thanks," she said, returning the smile. "I do believe though that it is my turn to ask someone."

"Ask away!" Mabel said, lightening the mood with her cheeriness.

"Dipper, truth or dare?"

"Dare," Dipper said.

"I dare you to... climb that tree!" Pacifca shouted, and pointed to a very tall pine tree.

Dipper snorted. "Please, that's easy."

He climbed up the tree, grabbing onto the branches to support him. Finally, after a couple scratches and a splinter, he made it up.

"What do you see?" Mabel asked.

"Just the stars, but it's beautiful," he said. He looked into the forest. "Wait a second, I think I see something." The trees near the campsite had begun to move, like something or maybe someone was pushing their way to the glow of the fire. "Uh guys, watch out. I think it's coming your way!"

He scrambled down the tree as fast as he could to find his sister and Pacifca facing where the sound appeared to be coming from, terrified at whatever awaited them.

"What do you think it is?" Dipper asked, wide eyed.

"What if it was Noah Desano?" Pacifca joked, trying to brighten the frightened mood.

"It could be!" Mabel screeched, suddenly remembering a vital part of her horror story. "Grunkle Ford told me about the tale, which means that it could be true."

Dipper groaned. Just their luck. "It's official, we're going to die."

With those not so friendly words ringing in their heads, the trio turned back to the bushes, as the mysterious figure announced its terror.


End file.
